Ross, who was also the co-writer of The Hunger Games, was due to start shooting follow-up Catching Fire later this year, for release in November 2013. The supposition is that this would be the second in a four-film franchise adapted from Suzanne Collins' trilogy of young adult novels.

In a statement, Ross said: "As a writer and a director, I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule."

Lionsgate responded by stating: "We're very sorry that Gary Ross has chosen not to direct Catching Fire. We were really looking forward to making the movie with him. He did an incredible job on the first film and we are grateful for his work."

Full Monty scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy had been drafted in to work on the Catching Fire screenplay after The Hunger Games' postproduction scheduled had proved too onerous for Ross to work on the script with Collins.

As recently as a week ago, Lionsgate were confident that Ross would return. Producer Nina Jacobson told Bloomberg News that "director Gary Ross has agreed to make the film", along with the main cast, including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, who have signed on for the complete cycle.